M.I.A. Quotes

I don't support terrorism and never have. As a Sri Lankan that fled war and bombings, my music is the voice of the civilian refugee.

I don't intentionally go: 'Ooh, what is provocative,' and try to do that. I just do stuff, and people go: 'Ooh, that's provocative.'

I already feel that I am making a political statement by sticking around in music, when I am doing it so differently to everyone else.

I never pigeonhole myself into any religion, but I feel it has found me. I am trying to make sense of it ... the essence of the Mathangi concept.

In New York, everyone's really neurotic and talks about themselves all the time.

I feel like a mirror reflecting back everyone's perception of me.

I hate the idea of street art. With music, I just needed my brain and my voice, which didn't cost anything.

My father had no influence on my political beliefs, and to imply otherwise is wrong and irresponsible.

It is a coincidence that Mathangi is the Goddess of Music and the spoken word, which can be rap.

I am the bridge between the East and the West. I don't want to abandon one for the other.

Confidence takes constant nurturing, like a bed, it must be remade every day.

I have no ties to my dad. I had no communications with him; it didn't shape who I am or anything like that. I'm actually a product of my mom.

What really drives me mad about art is that, in America, the only thing you can do is to take it apart.

I feel like I'm living in the dead weeds of hip-hop. I live in the graveyard of what went wrong with hip-hop.

I don't consider myself a musician. I'm an artist.

Uncomfortable silences. Why do we feel it's necessary to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable?

As an artist, you want to play around with mediums and see if you can get the point across in different way.

It could be the sort of declining grip of the American MTV-nation culture-the fact that MTV doesn't play so much music anymore.

Besides, isn't it more exciting when you don't have permission?

Manhattan seems pretty developed, you know what I mean? Like, it has peaked in culture.

I was part of the generation that pushed the Internet. In fact, I broke as an artist in the U.S.A. because of the Internet.

I've documented a lot of things myself as a filmmaker. If you want a rockumentary, that's in there.

My statements aren't incomplete, they're just in-progress. It's a debate and a discussion.

There has been an effect of business rap on the output of today's rap music. But I don't think that's the modern day rapper's fault.

You have to constantly redefine who you are.

I fly like paper, get high like planes
If you catch me at the border, I got visas in my name

Before the Greeks were the Tamils. The Tamils are one of the oldest civilizations that's still surviving.

I don't think immigrants are that threatening to society at all. They're just happy they've survived some war somewhere.

Nike is the uniform for kids all over the world, and African design has been killed by Nike. Africans no longer want to wear their own designs.

I'm still working out my opinions - it's always a question mark. I leave loads of space open, and people don't like that.

That's what's inspiring to me-finding someplace where people haven't already seen themselves in a certain light.

Businessmen in society are not going to be the ones that promote anything outside of money.

Just make music; don't talk about politics.

Versace designs have always been bootlegged. Now it's Versace bootlegging the bootleg for the bootleggers to bootleg the bootleg.

I was shot at for being a Tamil in Sri Lanka, and then, everyone was calling me a Paki in London, and I'm not even Pakistani.

My giving birth was nothing when I think about all the people in Sri Lanka that have to give birth in a concentration camp.

That's what I miss, being a real human.

Everyone has that moment where they just rebel.